Trudeau weighs options as NDP calls for action on Ford use of notwithstanding clause

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday his government is looking at its options to respond to Ontario Premier Doug Ford's use of the notwithstanding clause.

He made the brief comment in French outside the House of Commons moments after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called for more action from the federal government.

"We’re seeing right now a clear attack on workers, on vulnerable workers and on workers’ rights.… There has to be a response," Singh told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"We're open to any solution to be put on the table and to evaluate if it will work or not and if it will help workers' rights."

The union representing the 55,000 affected educational workers in Ontario says it still plans to hold a strike on Friday, despite the looming legislation that would impose fines on strikers.

The Liberals have been critical of the Ford government this week, with Trudeau previously describing the legislation as outright "wrong."

Justice Minister David Lametti didn't bite on a question earlier Wednesday about what options might be on the table.

"I'm not going to discuss options here," he said before a Liberal caucus meeting, though there are "a number of different things one might do."

Lametti said the pre-emptive use of the clause is "very serious" and "anti-democratic."

"It guts Canadian democracy," he said. "It means the Charter doesn't exist."

An NDP MP, Matthew Green, is calling on the House to hold an emergency debate on the issue.

In a letter to the House Speaker, Green said the proposed legislation to impose a new contract on education workers undercuts their rights and imposes "disproportionate punitive measures" on those who seek to take action.

Green said the use of the notwithstanding clause to bypass the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of a "disturbing trend" of provinces seeking to trample constitutional freedoms.

"This particular case could present a precedent for provincial governments across the country that might seek to use this to further undermine the collective agreement rights of workers," he told reporters.

Green called on the House to unanimously condemn the move on Wednesday afternoon, but some Conservative MPs voted down his motion.

Trudeau and others have called on federal Conservatives to respond, but MPs on their way into a Conservative caucus meeting Wednesday morning declined to comment.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which is representing the workers, presented a counter-offer late Tuesday night in response to the imposed contract terms in the legislation, but has not yet provided details about the proposal.

Ontario's education minister has suggested that there won't be much movement at the bargaining table this week and insisted that any new offer from the union must include cancelling the strike.